I Should Tell You
by hweasley21
Summary: There are times the one thing you need to hear is the one thing he waits to tell you. A Oneshot PercyxHermione


Avada kedavra!"

Two voices rang out from down the stairs. Hermione froze at the sight of blinding green light from under her door, and winced at the smacking thuds that followed. She was wide awake now, but too terrified to move. Wide-eyed, hyperventilating quietly, she listened to the footsteps ascend closer. She grabbed her wand, pointed at the door and cried "Colloportus!" in time to see the knob move just slightly before freezing in place.

"Bollocks!" bellowed the man on the other side, kicking at it repeatedly.

"Reducto!" The window shattered. Hermione tossed Crookshanks, then jumped out behind him. "Arresto momentum!" She fell backwards into the snow, stood up, and locked eyes with her mother. "Mummy!" stifled Hermione as she watched their blood pool on the hardwood floor. "Daddy…" she mouthed.

A flash of light behind them snapped her out of shock. Crookshanks ran after as she held out her arm, and the bus appeared from nowhere down the street. "Welcome to the Knight Bus," said a voice whose face Hermione completely ignored as she ran past and collapsed.

"Damn, last one."

"I'll get you another pack, Ms. Granger." Hermione pulled a deep drag as the barkeep lit her cigarette. "What's your brand?"

"Camel Light. Can you get ten? I'm a bit short--"

"No matter, Ms. Granger." Tom slinked off to a back room, leaving Hermione alone on the corner stool. She shivered as her eyes passed over all the vacant tables. The Leaky Cauldron was never this empty, even the last time the snow was this bad.

She took another long drag, moved to the fireplace and closed her eyes. She could hardly keep them open from the sting, but forced herself to stay awake. She couldn't stand the image of her wide-eyed, terrorized parents again.

"Hermione?"

She started and spun round to see Percy in the doorway, nervously adjusting his glasses. She mumbled an acknowledgement into her mug of hot chocolate as he approached.

"It's late. Mum was getting worried." He sat next to her. "I didn't know you smoked."

"Daddy smoked when I was little," she told her hot chocolate. "I started to steal them from him summer before our OWLs." She took a last pull, then flicked it into the fire.

The ensuing silence was broken only by Hermione's occasional sob. Finally, Percy draped his arm awkwardly over her shoulder. "Are you okay?" came his whisper.

"No… no," she intoned just as quietly, refusing to let him hear her voice any louder than her sobs. "Just… go on."

"No." Percy draped his arm awkwardly over her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I can't… I don't… It's… very complicated."

Percy held her closer. "Take your time."

She sobbed again, inhaled deeply and breathed, "I feel lost." Another breath. "Ron left. My parents are dead. Harry has Ginny. When the war is over, I will truly be alone."

"That's not true." Percy grabbed her shoulders and forced her to lock eyes with him. "That's not true at all."

Hermione suddenly threw her head back in laughter. "How would you know?"

Percy wrenched his grip from her shoulders and stared down his own hot chocolate. "I should tell you," he told it.

"What?"

"I don't know what you'll say or how you will react, but I should tell you…" Percy suddenly felt as though he'd been confounded.

Hermione snapped out of her momentary mania and asked again, "What? What is it?"

"From the moment I met you, I thought you were special," Percy told the chocolate. "But it wasn't until fourth year that I saw you as something more than just Ron's mate."

He turned away to gather his courage, but Hermione grabbed his shoulders and forced him to lock eyes with her. "You should tell me…"

"I should tell you… I love you," he whispered. "I'm in love with you, Hermione."

Hermione held his gaze until he broke away. "I'll understand if you don't reciprocate. I just wanted you to know… you're not alone." He turned to leave.

Hermione sat, shocked, then smiled as another tear rolled. Percy couldn't tell if the next sound he heard was a sob or a laugh, but before he could make it to the door, she had leapt to meet his lips.

"I should tell you…" she whispered as she brushed the hair from his eyes. "I love you too."


End file.
